It is December 1881. In a
squalid tenement in Chicago's ninth ward, Alexander Curtis ,
age 31, lives with his wife, Frances, and his two daughters,
Jennie, 6, and Daisy, 2.

He moved to Chicago from Missouri just last
year, but until now has only been able to find work as a street
peddler. Suddenly, the dream becomes reality: a new job and with it
the astonishing problem of choosing a new home.